Crafting Peace
by Anne Khushrenada
Summary: Relena has several conversations on the subjects of war and peace, one of them with Treize.


Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters do not   
belong to me, but to the good people of Sunrise,   
Sotsu, Bandai, and quite possibly various others,   
whose names I cannot possibly keep track of, but who,   
I'm sure, know exactly who they are.   
  
* * *  
  
"Crafting Peace"  
by Christine Anderson   
aka Anne Khushrenada  
ladyune@gundamwing.net  
  
"I think I'm starting to hate him," Relena Peacecraft   
said with a sigh.  
  
"Who?" her brother asked, although he was fairly sure   
that he knew. It was often better for Relena if she   
could talk things out, as if she could give voice to   
them and let them go.  
  
He wished, always, that it could be so easy for him.  
  
"Heero," she said.  
  
Milliardo nodded. "Ah. You and Heero live in   
different worlds, little sister. You can't hate him   
for what he is."  
  
"But-" Relena sighed. "I want peace in this world,   
more than I want anything in the world. But..." She   
paused, shook her head. "I understand why Heero   
fights, and there are days I wish I could join him.   
War is easy. Hell, but easy. Peace is hard."  
  
"Yes," Milliardo agreed. "And your joining Heero's   
fight would gain nothing. There are too many fighting   
already; one more wouldn't make any difference."  
  
"Dorothy doesn't think so."  
  
"And nor does Treize," Milliardo replied. "It can be   
very hard to disagree with one's friends, Relena."  
  
"Dorothy," Relena replied, "is not my friend."  
  
"But she can be," Milliardo replied. His eyes turned   
momentarily to Noin, and he nodded slightly. Noin   
nodded back.  
  
"Relena," said Noin.  
  
"You're ganging up on me again," Relena said in soft   
complaint. "You shouldn't be able to do to that to a   
princess."  
  
"On the contrary," said Noin. "A princess may need it   
more than anyone else. Do you know what Romafeller's   
greatest weakness is?"  
  
"Tubarov's ego?" Relena quipped.  
  
"Clever girl. But no, their biggest problem- and   
their greatest weakness -is the fanatical devotion   
they have to their cause. Because of that, they'll   
never see any middle grounds or compromises. And you   
will." Noin's faith in the truth of this statement   
was plainly visible in her eyes.  
  
"But if they won't listen, then what-?" Relena began.  
  
"They may not ever listen, Relena, but someday they   
will see. And if they see enough of the truth that   
it's impossible for even them to deny it... then   
what?"  
  
"The Sank Kingdom could live again," Relena breathed.   
She turned from the room at a run. "Pargan! Ready the   
car, please. I'm going out."  
  
Milliardo turned to Noin again, raising an eyebrow in   
question. She shrugged in reply.  
  
"I don't know what she's up to this time," Noin said,   
"but your sister has a habit for casting tact to the   
winds and cutting straight to the heart of the   
matter. That quality will make her a very good queen   
someday."  
  
"If it doesn't get her killed first," Milliardo   
muttered. "Pargan-"  
  
"I'll take good care of her, Mister Peacecraft,"   
Pargan promised.  
  
Milliardo settled back into his chair. "You should go   
with her, Noin. Pargan thinks he is protection   
enough, but..."  
  
Noin shuddered. "I'm going to take that gun away from   
him."  
  
"Oh?" said Milliardo. "I thought you were taking him   
out to the shooting range, to practice."  
  
"I did." Noin sighed. "Milliardo, he's-" *Hopeless,*   
she thought, but never had a chance to say.  
  
"Noin," Relena called, appearing once again in the   
doorway, her uniform jacket now in place. "Are you   
coming?"  
  
"Yes, Relena, just a moment."  
  
Milliardo took her hand briefly. "Take good care of   
my sister, Noin."  
  
"Yes, sir," Noin replied with a smile, before turning   
to follow Relena.  
  
As they made their way out towards the car, Noin   
asked, "So, where did you have in mind to go,   
Relena?"  
  
"I," said Relena, "am going to see Treize   
Khushrenada. I am going to put an end to this awful   
war once and for all!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Excuse me, Your Excellency?"  
  
Treize Khushrenada turned towards the sound of the   
servant's voice, snapping closed the leather-bound   
volume he was reading. "Yes?"  
  
"I am sorry to disturb you, sir, but you have a   
visitor."  
  
"A visitor?" Treize asked, replacing the book upon   
the library shelf.  
  
"Yes, sir. An emissary from the Sank Kingdom."  
  
*Damn,* thought Treize. *My dear Lady, I had hoped it   
would be you. But perhaps- Milliardo?*  
  
"Well," he said. "Show him in, please."  
  
"Her, sir."  
  
Before Treize could react, the servant departed,   
returning momentarily with two young women in tow.   
  
"Your Excellency, Princess Relena Peacecraft, of Sank   
Kingdom, and her guardian, Miss Lucrezia Noin."  
  
The older of the two women stood a half-step back   
from the younger, a pistol on one hip and a slim   
rapier upon the other. Treize immediately recognized   
Lucrezia Noin, and he nodded in familiar greeting.   
The servant seemed a bit taken aback by her being   
armed in the presence of Treize, but he knew that if   
Noin had come to kill him, he would be already dead.   
Knew, as well, that if she'd come to kill him, she   
would not have brought the princess of the Sank   
Kingdom with her.  
  
And it was that princess, Noin's protectee, whom he   
focused most of his attention upon. So long as he was   
not a direct threat to Relena, Noin would not pose   
any threat to him.   
  
Relena Peacecraft had all the fire and passion of   
Milliardo at her age, but without the latter's   
cynicism or bitterness. Relena was what Milliardo,   
his eternal friend, could have been if circumstances   
had been different.  
  
Treize bowed from the waist. "Princess Relena. It's a   
pleasure to see you. Won't you sit down. Might I   
offer you something? Tea?"  
  
"That would be lovely, thank you," Relena replied as   
she took the seat Treize offered her.  
  
Treize gestured towards the servant. "Tea for the   
Princess and I, please." A seasoned military   
commander as well as a born aristocrat, he knew   
better than to offer something to Noin; she would   
only politely refuse, to keep her hands free and her   
attention focused entirely where it belonged, upon   
the young girl with whose protection she was charged.  
  
After the servant had brought the tea and departed,   
Treize poured for his guest and then studied her over   
his cup.  
  
"Well," Relena said as she set her cup upon the table   
after sipping politely. "I realize you are quite   
busy, Your Excellency, so I will waste as little time   
as possible."  
  
"Time spent in the company of my dearest friend's   
sister is never wasted, my dear. How is your brother,   
might I ask?"  
  
"He is well, sir," Relena said. "But I did not come   
here to discuss my brother."  
  
*Of course not,* Treize thought. *They have trained   
you well, my dear, but there are things only the   
years will teach you to truly understand.*   
  
He nodded. "You, too, must be busy, Relena."  
  
"Yes," she replied. Then, heedless of the   
consequences, she went on. "This has to end, Your   
Excellency. It *must* end, before more good people   
die for nothing."  
  
Treize smiled at her. "I find your perspective very   
refreshing. Of course you know that what you suggest   
is impossible."  
  
"I know no such thing," Relena replied.  
  
"Then you are naive, for what you suggest *is*   
impossible."  
  
"Is it?" Relena asked. "Don't you want peace?"  
  
*If she only knew what a complicated question that   
was,* Treize thought. Aloud he said, "What I want is   
immaterial. If a single person's determination could   
have ended this war, it would have been over and done   
with years ago. I do admire your determination, make   
no mistake about that. However-"  
  
Relena cut him off. "I have seen the power that one   
voice has, Your Excellency. I have seen what one   
voice can do. I have seen what five can do. I have   
seen what a nation can do. And I can only imagine   
what a world can do. But it has to start somewhere,   
sir. *It has to start somewhere.* Join me, join Sank,   
and help me stop this horrible war."  
  
Treize's smile was amused now, and little more. *Ah,   
Milliardo, my friend. What a charming idealist she   
is, this sister of yours. I see now why you all love   
her so. And because I love her also, I will not hurt   
her in this if I can help it.*  
  
"Some," he said aloud, "have known little else   
besides war. Think, if you would, of your friends,   
the Gundam pilots."  
  
"They fight," Relena said rather flatly, "because the   
peace-loving leaders of this world were destroyed."  
  
"They fight for revenge," Treize countered. "And   
revenge does not suit itself well to peace. In the   
world you envision, your friends would be outcasts."   
A pause, pregnant with meaning. "As would I."  
  
"No!" Relena exclaimed. "Your Excellency, you are   
just the sort of man my kingdom needs." She dropped   
her voice, deep blue eyes seeming to plead with him.   
"Join us. Join the nation of your birth- Yes, I know   
the truth now. Your father served mine. My brother   
and I owe both you and he our lives. I know that much   
has changed since those days, and yet you are still   
my brother's childhood friend, a man grown of the boy   
whom your father trained to take his place."  
  
"Relena," Noin began, but Treize waved her to   
silence.  
  
"No, Miss Noin, I would like her to continue. Go on,   
Relena."  
  
Relena sighed. "You're only humoring me, aren't you?   
No one takes me seriously- no one! I am not a child   
anymore, Your Excellency- in your own way you saw to   
that, you and Lady Une. When she killed the man I   
knew as my father, the little girl too young to   
remember Sank as it was, died with him." Blue eyes   
met blue, and Relena did not look away. "I am Relena   
Peacecraft. Relena Peacecraft! My father- my true   
father -was a king, and one day I will be queen.  
  
"My fathers, both of them, were dedicated to peace.   
As am I. I have always been dedicated to it, though I   
didn't always understand it. I will see this war end,   
Your Excellency. I will."  
  
Treize, amazed despite himself at the very passion   
with which she spoke, rose from his chair. "Walk with   
me, Relena."  
  
"Your Excellency, surely you can't expect her to   
trust-" Noin began.  
  
"On my honor, Miss Noin, I tell you she will not be   
harmed. Nor will any harm be allowed to come to her.   
You see me as your enemy now, and I do realize that-   
but I tell you that within these walls, I would die   
to protect your princess. Anyone wishing to hurt her   
will have to get through me first."  
  
Noin nodded. "Then I'll wait here."  
  
Gesturing for Relena to precede him through the door,   
Treize turned back to Noin. "You may trust me, Noin,   
if only in this one thing."  
  
Relena waited for him outside the library, her   
expression showing her disappointment. "I suppose   
you're going to ask me to leave now," she said.  
  
"Certainly not. You haven't yet spoken your piece,   
have you?"  
  
"Would it matter?" Relena asked. "You think me an   
idealistic young fool."  
  
"Idealistic and young, yes, but the idealistic and   
the young have done great things. And you, whatever   
else might be said of you, are certainly not a fool."   
Treize shook his head. "No. On the contrary, I find   
your idealism and frank ways of speaking to be   
refreshing. If only those I deal with on a daily   
basis could speak so plainly..."  
  
Relena nodded. "You seemed surprised, that I knew of   
your true history."  
  
"I am surprised Milliardo remembered. You were both   
very young then."  
  
"And you only a few years older than my brother." She   
paused, took a deep breath. "You risked your life to   
help us then, and you were old enough to know how   
dangerous that might be. I came here to ask you, no,   
to beg you- to do it only once more. I say it again,   
sir: Help me end this."  
  
Treize was struck by the sudden desire to draw the   
girl into his arms and hug her. She was so certain   
that it could be only that simple...  
  
"Tell me this, then, please. What is it that causes   
you to think I have the power to do that anymore?"  
  
"You are the commander of OZ. If anyone could-"  
  
But Treize shook his head. "More and more, I lead in   
name only. Romafeller has taken decisions like these   
out of my hands. To be frank, even if I wished to   
help you- and I cannot say absolutely that I don't   
want to do that -I can't."  
  
Relena sighed. "So I must take my words to Duke   
Dermail, then. So be it." And she turned away,   
starting for the library...  
  
Treize caught her arm and drew her back. "No!"  
  
"No?" Relena asked sharply, jerking away from him.  
  
Taking her hands, Treize knelt before her. "My dear   
child. I had suspected when you came here that you   
thought to presume on my friendship with your   
brother. Which is well within your rights, I believe-   
one uses the tools one has available. But I tell you   
this now, and hope that you will heed my words.   
Dermail has not my long-standing affection for your   
family."  
  
"I don't understand," Relena said. "He is the true   
leader of the faction opposing peace now. I must   
speak to him."  
  
"Then for the love of God, do so from a great   
distance."  
  
Relena still seemed not to understand what he was   
getting at. "You spoke a moment ago of your wish that   
people would speak more plainly. Speak plainly now,   
to me."  
  
"Dermail will kill you if he can," Treize said   
flatly. "Surely you didn't think that Lucrezia Noin   
was your guardian only for show purposes? No, her   
duties are very real, and Sank's need for her and   
those like her is great. Don't throw her life away by   
taking unnecessary risks."  
  
"What?" Relena whispered. "Kill me-? Kill Noin? But   
why?"  
  
"You, because you stand in opposition to him. Noin,   
because she will stand between you and harm even if   
the cost is her own life."  
  
Relena buried her face in her hands. From there she   
whispered, "No! I never wanted anyone to die for me,   
never."  
  
"I know," Treize told her. "I know."  
  
Relena looked up at him, slowly. "Help me."  
  
"I don't have that authority anymore."  
  
"Yes, you do. In the eyes of OZ, you do." Relena rose   
unsteadily to her feet. "All I ask is that you think   
about it. *Really* think about it. Remember Sank as   
it was, and your father, and mine."  
  
She turned towards the library. "Noin?"  
  
"Yes, Relena?"  
  
"Tell Pargan to bring the car around, please. I think   
we'll be leaving soon."  
  
Noin nodded, and departed.  
  
Once she had gone, Relena turned back to Treize.   
"Will you do it?" she asked.  
  
"I...will think on what you've said." Treize found   
that his voice was hardly as steady as it had been.   
How was it that such idealistic nonsense could so   
make him question everything?  
  
"That's all I ask," Relena told him. "If you wish to   
speak again, you know where you can reach me. Or   
Milliardo, if you would rather debate all of this   
with him." She smiled. "You were born in Sank.   
Someday you're coming home. I know that- someday you   
will, too."  
  
With that, Relena Peacecraft, the future Queen of the   
Sank Kingdom, turned away. And Treize Khushrenada,   
once OZ's most dedicated commanding officer, watched   
her go, his expression thoughtful.  



End file.
